Avenue Energy completes acquisition of 25 licenses in Turkey

Avenue Energy has signed new joint operating and related agreements with Aladdin Middle East and its affiliates covering drilling and production operations in the Karakilise license and 25 other explo

Avenue Energy has signed new joint operating and related agreements with Aladdin Middle East (AME) and its affiliates covering drilling and production operations in the Karakilise license and 25 other exploration and production licenses and leases in Turkey.

Under the Agreements, Avenue currently holds a 50 percent participating interest in the Karakilise and additional licenses subject to a 7.5 percent overriding royalty interest in favor of Ersan Petrol Sanayii, an affiliate of the Sayer Group.

As previously reported by the company, Avenue originally exercised the option over the additional licenses in November and has now completed this transaction with the payment of $315,000 to AME. The parties have also agreed that Avenue, at its discretion may elect to change its interest in any future wells from 50 percent to no less than 25 percent.

Thirteen of the 25 additional licenses are located in South East Turkey, which forms part of the Arabian Basin. Three of the other licenses covered by this agreement are located within in the southern half of the Tuz Golu/Salt Lake Basin, south of Ankara. Another three licenses are in the Antalya Basin in the eastern Mediterranean, close to the Bulgurdag Oil Field and six further licenses lie within the onshore extension of the Aegean Basin near Izmir in Western Turkey. The Aegean Basin contains the Prinos Field, the only producing oilfield in offshore Greece.

Turkey straddles the oil-rich Middle East and the energy hungry European Union (EU). The South East Turkey region forms the north flank of the Arabian Basin, and lies adjacent to the major oilfield belt of Iraq, Iran and Syria. Only approximately 1,400 exploration and appraisal wells have been drilled in the whole country since 1961. The Turkish portion of the Arabian Basin is less explored with fewer wells per acre drilled than in the rest of the Arabian Basin. — (menareport.com)